Cargo beds of vehicles, such as pickup trucks and trailers, are versatile for hauling many types of cargo. However, a cargo bed cannot be securely closed to protect its contents from weather and theft. Also, cargo beds of pickups have low walls that limit the size and amount of goods to be hauled. Several devices have attempted to resolve both of these problems at once by providing a multiple-section cover that attaches to the truck bed walls and can be moved from a horizontal position, covering the bed, to a vertical position, extending the truck walls.
However, these devices have several drawbacks. Primarily, these devices must be placed in a “cover” or “extended” position, and can never be stowed-away on board the truck. In some cases, such as in U.S. Pat. No. 6,902,222, the device takes up cargo space by attaching to the bed floor or otherwise extending into the bed. Many devices, such as U.S. Pat. No. 6,663,160, attach to the top surface of the bed walls, which may scratch the paint and prevent use of the bed's stake holes, commonly found on this surface. Known devices endeavor to cover the entire bed, so that no goods taller than the bed walls may be transported when the cover is in the horizontal position. A convertible cover that addresses these drawbacks is needed.
In many states, a commercial driver's license and commercial license plates are required to advertise the driver's business on the side of his vehicle while driving. These registrations are considerably more expensive than standard registrations. Without them, it is typically legal to have advertising on the vehicle while it is not in use, so many business owners have advertising magnets that they apply when the vehicle is stopped and remove in order to drive it. Magnets present a problem in that they can be lost or stolen, and they can damage articles that are susceptible to damage from magnets, such as laptop computers. It would be desirable to have advertising on the vehicle that can be hidden without being removed.
Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide an apparatus for covering and extending the height of a truck bed that can be stowed away in the bed without taking up cargo room. It is a further object that the apparatus not attach to the top surface of the bed walls. It is a further object that the apparatus provide partial cover to allow large goods to be transported in the bed. It is another object to provide a convertible cover/extender for a truck bed that adds versatility to the truck bed. It is a further object that the convertible cover/extender provide a surface for advertising content that may be easily hidden from view.